I have been reading about myths and their meaning. I have been really struck by how many people have looked at the creation story with Adam and Eve and interpreted it. Often they see that Adam and Eve had dominance over nature. When they ate from the tree of knowledge and were expelled from the garden of Eden, they put nature behind them. They interpret the entire story as if nature is a separate entity from humanity, but as I have been trying to learn about life I am coming to a very different conclusion.
I believe everything happens for a reason. My husband being part Native-American and introducing me to that culture is part of my path. I have total faith in this idea because the Native-American culture teaches that instead of being separate from nature or having dominance over nature, people are a part of nature and belong to the natural world.
When I die, my body will become ashes and then dust and return to being part of the earth just as I was before. I should have a respect for the earth and natural world because I am a part of it just like my fingernail is a part of my body. (Maybe not even a fingernail, maybe an eyelash.)
I have written several times about how people worry about pollution causing the end of the world, when what they really are worried about is the end of humanity. Pollution won’t cause the end of the world; but it will kill humankind. We must come to terms with the fact that we aren’t killing the world; we are killing ourselves. We don’t understand the amazing power that the earth has and that it will be here long after the last human being dies. For the earth, humanity is just a blink of the eye. However, mother earth will hold in her memory every human being that ever existed. She will remember every day, month, and year in billions of lifetimes as sure as she remembers every inch of the Grand Canyon. It is an awesome power. I find comfort knowing that when I die my physical body will rejoin that entity and it will go on.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
